Care providers
An introduction to the range of professionals and organisations who provide palliative and end of life care for children and young people across the NHS and voluntary sector.
The palliative and end of life care services available to children, young people and families will vary from area to area. ICBs may wish to familiarise themselves with how these services are currently provided in their footprints. This page aims to help them do so.
Together for Short Lives provides an online search service which enables users to find out about the children’s hospice and palliative and end of life care services available in their community.
Together for Short Lives’ interactive online maps show where inpatient children’s hospice and palliative and end of life care services are located in England. The maps enable users to switch on layers which show the geographical footprints of all ICS areas.
Universal, targeted and specialist children and young people’s palliative and end of life care is delivered by a web of providers, including:
- specialist medical input (for example, medical consultants with expertise in the child or young person’s condition)
- community children’s nursing teams
- children’s hospice services (these are available in all areas of England, either as inpatient, day services or in communities)
- specialist children and young people’s palliative and end of life care providers
- access to secondary and tertiary care
- emotional and psychological support
- local authority children’s services – practical care and support, including services providing equipment to disabled children, education, housing and leisure
- community paediatricians
- primary care
Specialist children and young people’s palliative and end of life care providers
Some of these are provided by NHS trusts operating tertiary children’s hospital services. In some areas, they are funded and provided jointly with voluntary sector children’s hospice services. In other areas, they are provided solely by children’s hospices.
NHS trusts providing inpatient and/or community children’s services
Children may need palliative and end of life care while under the care of one or more type of secondary or tertiary children’s health services. These will include, but are not limited to:
- neonatal services
- community children’s nursing
- community paediatrics
- general paediatrics
- continuing care for children and young people
- paediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition
- paediatric inherited metabolic medicine
- paediatric intensive care
- paediatric nephrology services
- paediatric neurodisability services
- paediatric neurology services
- paediatric oncology services
- paediatric respiratory services
- short break services
Voluntary sector services
Children’s hospices and palliative and end of life care services provide short break care, end of life care, specialist play, pre-bereavement and bereavement support. Some also provide day care facilities and home-based care services.
Some children’s hospices and children and young people’s palliative and end of life care charities have a specialist medical team and can support complex care such as long-term ventilation, others have a greater focus on social care.
Local authority children’s services
Local authorities commission and/or provide a range of practical care and support, including services providing:
- short breaks for respite
- equipment to disabled children
- education
- housing
- leisure